Author: Tim Ehrhardt

I'm just a common ordinary pastor, chaplain, father, grandfather, and dog owner who loves the smell of a genuine leather Bible and the aroma of its message. I'm on a quest to track down the best Bibles, how to best read and use them, and to discover the encouragement inside.

The Way to Harmony

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
“When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ?  And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.” –1 Corinthians 10:16-17
 
            Imagine waking up in the morning eager to go to work.  The harmony between you and your co-workers makes for a happy work environment.  The challenges of accomplishing tasks are easy because you have a supportive boss.  The sales team communicates with you and your colleagues so that production happens with a seamless co-operation.  Lunch-time talk is discussing one another’s families and your hopes for the upcoming evening with them.
            Imagine going home and enjoying conversation around the dinner table with your loved ones.  Laughter, inside-jokes, hilarious stories about the day’s antics are shared with great food and great fun.  Everyone lingers at the table, enjoying the time and staying in their chairs to put a puzzle together.
            Imagine getting out of bed on Sunday morning with joyful anticipation in your heart of worshiping God with people of like mind.  You know the interaction with fellow believers in Jesus will be open, honest, sweet, and full of grace.  The wonderful relationships between God and people will be celebrated at the Lord’s Table….
            It could be that somewhere in those descriptions you pursed your lips with a “ppfffff” – like that’s gonna happen!”  That’s because you feel drained from the lunch-time gossip gab session at work; you couldn’t wait to finish supper at home because of the bickering between your kids at the table; and, you drag yourself out of bed on Sunday out of duty, knowing that the Lord’s Table will be just another ritual to do with people who don’t talk to each other across the divided aisle.
            There is someone who understood this reality first-hand, and knew that it really could be different – it could be a new reality that fulfills, even exceeds your imagination of harmony and unity.
The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the 1st-century Corinthian church to emphasize that the work of Jesus on the cross effected what we call “reconciliation” between God and people, and between each other as people.  This means that God, in Christ, has restored relations between us and God, and between one another.  The relations between the Corinthian believers had broken down into special interest groups, and there was no interaction or fellowship or participation between those various factions.  People basically just hung out with others who thought just like them, and did not care about what other people in the church thought; each group wanted their own way, and they had not yet learned how to work together and have true unity and fellowship with each other.
Participation in Christ, and participation with each other is the result of the reconciliation that has been applied to us because of the cross; and, it is this reconciliation that brings unity or one-ness to your church, to your workplace, and to your family, allowing you to work together and play well with others.  So, when we come to the Lord’s Table, it is this truth that we celebrate, enjoy, and re-create together.
            Jesus is not just someone we remember, but someone we participate in through the Lord’s Table.  Sharing the Table together brings healing and forgiveness, and builds up our faith so that we might joyfully live in the reconciliation that Christ has brought us.
            Therefore, we must live up to what we possess – our participation in Christ results in participation and fellowship and unity with each other.  Since we are forgiven, we work at being harmonious at church, at work, and at home.  This is symbolized by partaking of the same loaf of bread, and drinking from a common cup.

 

            Peace, harmony, unity, and fellowship begins with Jesus Christ.  Workplace enjoyment will happen with an intentional development of encouraging language on your part, based in your participation with Jesus.  Family harmony will come when you seek to live into the reconciliation bought for you with Christ’s body and blood.  Church unity will exist when you make things right between you and God, and you and others with the cross always at the forefront of your mind and heart.

Psalm 139:1-6

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            How do you talk to yourself?  You know what I mean.  The kind of speech that goes on inside your head.  The things which you say inside your heart that no one knows but you.  I think you will agree with me that you are rather hard on yourself.  In the reclusive parts of your mind, you speak to yourself in ways that you would never say to others, nor tolerate others saying about someone else.  Only you know the depth of your own sorrows, hurts, fears, insecurities, and worries.  Except….
            God.  He knows it all.  He knows it all intimately.  And He is not repulsed.  You see, God knows that the answer to all the doubts about yourself is His protection.  You have the freedom to plumb the recesses of your heart and soul – to bring out all that is inside the cluttered closet of your mind and lay it out on the floor without fear of God calling you what you call yourself.
            Slowly read out loud these verses for today several times.  Allow the protecting God to wash over you with grace and understanding.
139 You have looked deep
into my heart, Lord,
and you know all about me.
2 You know when I am resting
or when I am working,
and from heaven
you discover my thoughts.
3 You notice everything I do
and everywhere I go.
4 Before I even speak a word,
you know what I will say,
5 and with your powerful arm
you protect me
from every side.
6 I can’t understand all of this!
Such wonderful knowledge
is far above me. (CEV)

 

Amen.

How to Stay on Track Following Jesus Throughout the Year

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

paths are made by walking

Its normal to have a head of steam at the beginning of the year.  You have things you want to accomplish – goals you desire to see met.  On that list of things in your head, in your heart, and maybe even written down somewhere on your desk is the longing to know God better, to experience Jesus in a fresh way, to have better discipline with prayer or Bible reading.  Maybe you don’t know where or how to start.  Perhaps you have traveled the Christian road for a long time and its become stale and dull, and you think you’ve exhausted all attempts at following Jesus with enthusiasm.

There is a way, a road, a path for you to travel.  It’s a very well-worn journey that Christians for two millennia have been walking.  If you will walk with them down this road, your desires can spring to life and gain traction and direction.  It’s a path of truly walking with Jesus, to experience his birth, life, teaching, death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification.

This journey with Jesus is not hard in the sense of simply following him.  Yet, it does require getting into a rhythm, just like you do when you walk.  Just as you have a certain gait, picture yourself walking with Jesus down a road.  Maybe it’s a slow saunter with him.  Maybe it’s going on a run.  Perhaps it’s a solitary tromp through the woods, or around the mall with others present.  Whatever it is, in this next year, imagine yourself recalling, retelling, and remembering the life of Jesus with him alongside you.

The Christian Calendar or Christian Year is a delightful and enlightening walk with Jesus throughout the entire year.  The Christian Year is a yearlong calendar that marks time according to the life of Jesus.  It is to live and walk in a rhythm with Christ at the center of your work and worship.  Observing the days and the seasons of the Year will bring you closer to Jesus with a greater awareness of his presence through the Holy Spirit.  It’s what I want, and it is, I believe, what you want, too.

The Christian Calendar is arranged in such a way as to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ over the course of a year.  Just one of the ways that help you to remember differing seasons is through color:  purple signifies a time for preparation and penitence; white represents celebration, joy, and victory; green lets us know it is time to focus on spiritual growth and mission; and, red helps us recall the Passion of Christ and the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Check-out how the Christian Year is organized and arranged according to seasons to aid you in your walk with Jesus:

Advent – The Christian Year begins not on January 1, but four Sundays before Christmas Day and up to Christmas Eve.  The purpose of Advent is to anticipate the incarnation of Christ and prepare us to celebrate the coming of Jesus.  We are also reminded that Jesus will again return….

Christmas – Yes, Christmas is more than just a day on the church calendar and encompasses the twelve days from December 25 to January 5 (you may recognize the 12 Days of Christmas).  Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ.

Epiphany – Epiphany follows Christmas from January 6 to the day before Ash Wednesday.  The term Epiphany means “manifestation.”  This is a celebration of God’s self-revealing, his manifestation to the entire world, not just the Jews, but the Gentiles, as well.  Epiphany emphasizes Christ’s earthly ministry of teaching, healing, and preaching.

Lent – There are forty days in the season of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday.  Lent is a time to recall Christ’s temptation, conflict, suffering, and death.  It is a season to contemplate being disciples in light of Christ’s Passion, engage in repentance, and put deliberate focus on spiritual disciplines.

Easter – As with Christmas, Easter is not just one Sunday; it is a season of fifty days up to the day of Pentecost.  Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus; helps us recognize our new life in Christ; and, includes celebrating the Ascension of our Lord.

Pentecost – This season runs from Eastertide to the Sunday before Advent.  Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit, the birth of the church, acknowledges our spiritual power, and calls us to rejoice in receiving God’s power.

Ordinary Time – Ordinary time refers to the ongoing work of the church to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the typical, expected, ordinary work of ministry that Christ’s followers are to do.

It’s easy to get distracted and get off track from our desires and goals.  But with observance of the Christian Year, we stay on track with Jesus.  The focus is on him, and not on our own schedules.  To center the year in Christ brings spiritual health, a close walk with Jesus, and a satisfaction to our hungry souls.

May your journey be fulfilling and fruitful.  Amen.

Judges 2:16-23

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Listening seems to be a lost art and a forgotten skill which needs careful development to be good at it.
            The Lord God Almighty is gracious, merciful, and kind.  He hears us when we call to Him, He listens when we incline our hearts to Him.  This is a characteristic of God – He always bends in a posture of listening to his creation.
            This is the reason why, as creatures in the image of God, we were meant from the very beginning of creation to listen.  But after humanity fell into disobedience, people have the tendency to talk more than they listen, to even refuse to hear what another is saying.  People even completely ignore God when He is speaking.
            The ancient Israelites were fickle in their attention to God.  When things were bad, they cried out to Him.  And because God listens, He heard and responded.  But when things were better, the people went about their business and forgot about Him.
            It was God who sent judges, rulers and leaders, to the people for their own welfare.  But we get this comment in the text of today’s Scripture:  they were quick to be unfaithful and to refuse even to listen these judges.
 
            Listening just wasn’t of value to the Israelites.  They talked and talked, and so could not hear what God or his appointed rulers were saying.
            We are to listen well, because God listens well.  We are to pay attention and hear because we are designed by our Creator to do so.  Perhaps our society would not be so perpetually upset and polarized if we would just take the time to listen well.
            Today, take a posture of listening.  Take just 10 minutes and don’t talk, don’t read, don’t check your phone, don’t do anything but just listen to the sounds around you.  What do you hear?  What do you think God is saying to you through those sounds?  How does He want you to respond?

 

            God of all creation, you have made me with two ears for listening.  Help me to so hear and distinguish you through creation and the voices of others so that I will follow you with confidence in my daily life through Jesus Christ, my Lord.  Amen.